Strategic Management Accounting (5cr)

Objective

The purpose of this course is to enhance students’ knowledge, understanding and intellectual, and practical skills about how managers place the accounting data in conjunction with the overall business strategy and decision making. Students enrich their theoretical and conceptual knowledge in order to identify and analyze business problems through accounting and financial perspectives. Similarly, students select, analyze, and evaluate raw business data and information and then draw inferences in terms of those actions which can bear impact on strategy and decision making of corporates. Students record, present and interpret financial/accounting data in such a manner that the users of financial accounting statements can know about the real financial health of corporates. The true, objective and unbiased financial information also help managers to plan and revise their business strategies, policy formulation and planning process. Students also understand different management accounting functions and learn to apply diverse management accounting techniques, methods and tools in different business situations. Students are able to evaluate firm performance in the light of conventional and non-conventional accounting/financial measures such as Economic Value Added (EVA), Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and Lean Accounting. Students also learn budgeting and cost accounting techniques in order to implement relevant control benchmarks. Students also learn various risk management techniques too.

Content

Accounting process and rationale, accounting analysis of quality of financial reporting, financial statements and ratio analysis, economic value added (EVA), balanced scorecard, lean accounting, budgeting, costs accounting aspects and corporate controls.

Qualifications

Students know the basics of financial and management accounting.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

1 (Sufficient): The student is familiar with strategic management accounting tools and understands the meaning of strategies as an organisation’s success factor. The student is familiar with success indices of operation and is able to produce these by using the cause-and-effect logic. He/she is familiar with the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) tool’s use. The student understands the economics-related risks and knows how to cope with them.
2 (Satisfactory): The student is able to write and produce indicators describing an activity’s success by using the cause-effect logic and knows how to obtain organisational data required for measuring.
3 (Good): The student is able to combine planning and budgeting processes and turn strategic objectives into Balanced Scorecard (BSC) objectives. The student is able to identify resource requirements that are required for achieving the aforementioned objectives. The student understands the Balanced Scorecard as a strategic management system. The student is able to evaluate the risks associated with financial factors.
4 (Very good): The student is able to critically examine an organisation’s planning and budgeting processes and turn organisation’s strategic objectives into Balanced Scorecard objectives. The student is able to identify resource requirements for meeting the above objectives and knows how to use budget data as an evaluation tool for reviewing and evaluating the results. The student can critically estimate the economics-related risks and find ways to manage them. The student understands the connection between risk management and Balanced Scorecard.
5 (Excellent): The student can develop an organisation’s planning and budgeting processes and turn the organisation’s strategic objectives into objectives in accordance with Balanced Scorecard. The student is able to combine risk management with the planning and monitoring process implemented by Balanced Scorecard.